Drunken Explanation

To let a DUI suspect speak, or not to speak.

That is obviously the question on this Friday as we head into the weekend.

Jose Hernandez hopped into his SUV last Sunday and headed home with his 2-year old daughter in tow after a couple beers.

He got into an acceleration contest with a 22-yr old in a little sports car.

You've seen it a million times at almost every stop light.

It's not a planned street race.

One car pulls away quickly, the other catches up and nudges ahead, the first car then speeds up a little more and before you know it, you've got two guys racing down the street.

Only last weekend, an innocent couple were caught in the middle.

A woman is killed and her husband remains in critical condition.

We asked for a jailhouse interview with Jose Hernandez this week and he agreed.

That decision has riled a few feathers on local airwaves and blogs.

It seems not many people wanted to hear an apology, or in this instance, an outright admission of guilt.

Well, 99% of the time the people in our community who end up in prison decline the media's request for an interview.

But we got the interview and reported what he said, for better or worse.

Hopefully, for the better.

I guess I could stand here and "What if" this thing to no end like many people have been doing, but it's done.

Where was this, why was that, he should have known, and so on.

I'm hoping his face and his confession will burn a lasting memory in your brain.

Think of that this weekend, when many of you will have one or two beers and get behind the wheel of their car for a quick drive home.

The BPD will tell you that about 90% of the time that someone is pulled over for weaving or some other telltale DUI sign, that the driver tells them they only had one or two beverages.

Many DUI's involve people who are at, or barely above, the state mandated .08 limit.

Does that stop people from doing it?

The newest DUI law in California involves a signature, acknowledging the fact that if you drink and drive and kill someone, you could be charged with murder.

Stack that on top of the thousands in fines, jail time, license suspension, counseling sessions, ignition locking devices, and so on and so forth.

Is drinking and driving still a problem?

Will drinking and driving every really end?

Not even if you brought prohibition back, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop trying.

I've interviewed numerous families who've been victimized by drunk drivers and become friends with many mom's and dad's whose sons and daughters were killed by someone who "made a bad decision."

We've broadcast their pain and anguish on our news dozens and dozens of times.

And we will keep showing the devastation this type of behavior causes until it finally sinks in.

As for Jose Hernandez, he faces 2nd degree murder charges in a DUI crash.

No amount of apologies in the world will keep him from a lengthy prison sentence.

But maybe his face and words will keep someone from joining him.